Singapore Core Inflation Quickens for First Time Since Sept.

Singapore’s key inflation gauge accelerated for the first time since September, driven by an increase in healthcare, education and food prices.

The core inflation rate, which excludes housing and private transportation costs, stood at 0.7% in April from a year earlier, compared with 0.5% in March, according to a statement by the Department of Statistics Singapore. That’s also higher than the median estimate of 0.5% in a Bloomberg News survey of analysts and ends six straight months of deceleration.